1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to a training glove for a boxer which dispenses with the need for a heavy bag to build up the muscular strength of a boxer, for the training glove incorporates characteristics of a heavy bag.
2. Status of Prior Art
The sport of boxing in which boxers fight with their fists goes back in history at least as far back as the Olympic games in ancient Greece. In these games the boxers wound heavy straps of leather about their hands and wrists. It was not until the 19th century that boxers began to wear boxing gloves in the form of heavily-padded leather mittens.
Commonly used in the training of boxers is the punching bag. This stuffed or inflated bag which is to be punched for exercise, is usually suspended though in some cases it is supported on a flexible rod. When a punching bag is struck by the glove of a boxer, it swings away from the glove and then swings back. By timing his punches, a skilled boxer can cause the punching bag to oscillate at a rapid rate. But because a punching bag is deflected by a boxer's punch, the impact force of a punch is relatively weak. Hence a boxer who trains with a punching bag does not in doing so build up his muscular strength but only his agility.
It is for this reason that boxers in training, make use of a heavy bag to enhance their muscular strength. A typical heavy bag is suspended from the ceiling and is filled with sand or similar material. When a heavy bag is struck by the glove of a boxer, the impact force is high, for the inertia of the bag resists deflection of the bag in reaction to the punch.
However the force of impact is not confined to the zone of contact between the glove and the heavy bag, for it is distributed and dissipated throughout the bag by the flowable sand therein. It is for the same reason that in jujitsu training, in order to build up muscular strength one punches into a container of rice rather than against a rigid hard surface.
Should a boxer in training strike a hard surface with his boxing glove, the concentrated force of impact could inflict injury to his hand despite the protection afforded by the padded boxing glove.
A heavy bag is standard equipment in gyms for training boxers. But since many boxers also train at home, there are commercially available heavy bags for domestic use. The problem with installing a heavy bag in the home rather than in a gym is that it is difficult to securely anchor the suspension cable of the bag on the ceiling. And the expense of a heavy bag coupled with its space requirements often militate against a home installation.